Played about in the garage, like you do, and found that if there's more than three bits of tape on an old motorcycle harness.... its just easier to make a new one than fix the old... Got quite good at it too.
So when a friend asks me to have a look at his Triumph T140... I thought " Great my first real job on someone else's bike..."
His problem was that when you pulled the brake lever both rear indicators glowed..... not the front... just the rear pair..... which is quite strange, sort of impossible, in itself....
So... seat off... all connectors unplugged... and I go to get my meter....
My mother came in and wants her scooter out... so we moved the T140...... pulled the brake lever.... like you do.... and the rear indicators glowed.....
Well I look at him and he looks at me cos nothing is connected... no power to anything on the rear end....
"What have you touched lately" I asked..... "Had the tank off to do the valves....." he said
SO off come the tank, with a bit of a struggle and find that the harness had been crushed against the frame....
If you apply pressure onto a wire/ cable it alters the insulation value... and the power just leaks through... and it will always find its shortest path to earth...
Which in this case was down the frame.. around the chrome rail and through the rear indicators...
Impressed that both rear indicators glowed evenly...
First job.... first lesson.... Bad Earth or "The Path of Least Resistance"
So...If your headlight is a bit dim.... check out the tail light connection... A bad earth can be absolutely anywhere...
And with electrics.. anything is possible...
Which leads me onto my second story....
During my 15 year stint at Cranes (Crane Fluid Systems) I had many jobs but the majority of my time was spent setting an operating CNC lathes in the bronze section...
My first day on the CNC's was with Peter... a brilliant machinist and a great man to learn from..
He says to me... "don't care if you come up to me covered in soot with a bent piece of machine in your hand... you must tell someone when things go wrong... what did you press.. what were you doing... etc... for it may be your fault.... but it may also be the machines...."
How right that saying proved to be...
Nice job but crap machines... especially the Stuart Davis ones I ran..... Cranes bought several Stuart Davis machines from their bankruptcy sale... Should have been an indicator of quality that one...
So I'm working away at this "200" model. Basically is a large rectangular metal box...... with a sliding door for access..... and a boxed in monitor on an arm next to the door....
I hated this thing.... not because of the cramped access to anything.... not because of the crappy way it worked.... but because of the fact, to me, that it had a sense of humour....
You may run of a hundred pieces or a thousand but first you have to set it... You could spend twenty minutes or a couple of hours doing this... and what was this machines party piece.... why did i hate it so much....
Well you have just spent x,y,z time setting it up... you set the IP (the initial position it starts from).... you run through the program manually... you alter the offsets to make things the right size.... and you put it into auto and run the first piece off...
When it finishes the part.... the chuck (holding the part) and the turret (holding the tooling) head back to there relative stops, ready to start again... But.... But.....
But just as they hit the stops it goes "Click" and the screen goes blank..... and everything is gone...... The program... the tooling offsets... even the base data that runs the machine... wiped out in an instant....
And this happened time after time.... I hated that machine... but it did make me laugh... it could have happened at any other time... but no it just had to wait right tell the end...
Cranes paid a fortune for an engineer to come and see what was wrong... but he always went away saying "its in the wiring not the hardware and until it blows up......."
He changed circuit boards.. he changed relays and boxes I have no idea of what they did.... but within a month it was "click" ...... mutter...... mutter... mumble.... I hate this bloody machine... AGAIN..
And then the inevitable happened..... And it was as spectacular as it was impossible....
I am setting up the machine again and about to put a tool into the turret when I heard "CLICK"...
Almost got my hand clear before the turret spun round.... funny feeling having your fingers stretched.
So just stood back and watched this... impossible thing... impossible because when you are setting and the door is open there's a whole raft of safety interlocks that stop anything moving... killing you...
But here I was watching the chuck spin up.... slow down... change direction... spin up again.. all very slowly and at minimal revs... but moving all the same...
The turret is slowly sliding back and forth along its bedway..
But the most amazing thing was the screen...... It was writing data.. gobbledygook.. but data... and then changing pages.... switching between offset, program and machine data pages..... and writing even more data on itself....
I call over a couple of other setters who stand there opened mouthed.... as they never believed half the things I said this machine did....
I walk round to the maintenance bay and up to a certain Mr Jones, who I have had many an argument with over this machine... and his usual answer was.. its impossible.. or... cant do that...
So I say to him... come and have a look at this... its moving by itself with the door open.... Guess what his answer was..... Yup... "It's Impossible"... so I literally drag him round to the machine..
Well the look on his face was a picture.... It was like watching David Armand doing the "there's so much going on section of his mime to Torn" he was just pointing to this and pointing to that with his mouth wide open....
After a couple of minute he just turns to me and says "Sorry Paul", to me, "and that's impossible".... as he point again to the turret..... "that's impossible".... as he points again to the chuck..... "and that's Bloody impossible" as he points to the screen....
Well the management came down... half the site came down... as Mr Jones put a barrier around this machine and left it running over the weekend.... because this was Friday and the engineer would not be here till Monday..
"Well" he says "perhaps the thing will blow itself up over the week end and maybe they'll but something decent"
It did not destroy itself... as much as I wished it would.... and on Monday the engineer arrived.. and he sat, having a cup of tea, watching this.. show... he even recorded it...
Then, finally, he opened up the rear doors to find a row of blackened circuit boards... which he replaced... and fired up the machine again....
It worked... bugger.... He said " might happen again as I think its in the wiring".... Bugger....
"Don't think it will be quite the same though as what I just watched was impossible"... Bug...... Eh!
"Why do you think I recorded it... the guys back at head office would never believe this one"...
Speechless....Still hate that damn machine.... and it was still running when I left... and it was still dumped all its info on occasion too.....
So... another lesson learnt.... with electrics, computer or otherwise, if it wants to do something... it will do it regardless of if your in the way.....
A point made clear a couple of years later... when I was doing a time study on a different machine there...
The operator loaded a part in to be machined.. pressed the start button... and this 50mm boring bar should have come forward and then down.... but it decided to come forward... and then keep on coming forwards and punched a BIG hole right through the plate steel bulkhead.... Bit of a loud bang that one... She jumped... I laughed.... and told her... "See... told you these had a sense of humour"
Monday 29 June 2015
Sunday 28 June 2015
Do we ever learn.....
Bit of a two parter this... but both are the same in there own way...
If you have ever read "The Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire" you will know that, apart from a really good, if long, read... it's a basic blueprint for the growth and eventual demise of empires.
Growth - either violence or coercion....... The Romans used both to great effect to expand their empire. They had a very well trained and organised army so they fought when needed or would say come join us and we will protect you and respect your ways, initially.
Demise - sometime by ignorance - sometimes by famine caused by overpopulation of an area - sometimes by over engineering of a resource - but more often by self importance, greed and not learning from the past.
The core Roman people grew INDIFFERENT, self obsessed, materialistic, greedy and being, as we now say, PC.
They not only gave freedom to the people they previously enslaved but gave them power which, in the end, helped along with the in fighting/ bickering/ stupidity (PC), enabling the "Huns" to invade them so swiftly
The British empire being the last in a long line of empires is now in that eventual demise state.
We ruled some with the use of a well trained army and navy. We ruled others through coexistence and then we became more indifferent, self obsessed, greedy and the empire declined into the Commonwealth and now that, mainly by the anal and illogical use of PC, is declining into something else
It is at a point now where it is irreconcilable. PC has gotten so out of hand and the euro zone will not let us change things back because we buck there system. its a lose lose situation that the next empire is taking full advantage off... the "Huns" invaded... the new empire cry is not "war" its "my rights are that you must change your rules/ law"..... and unfortunately we do....
As the winner writes the history books, then destroys anything that proves the new "history" wrong.... the endless cycle or rise and fall continues. regardless of what a group/ sect/ religion thinks it is impossible to have 100% of anything where the human animal is concerned.
Even if the next empire gets the 1000 years that Hitler was so intent on... it will fall... even if it tries to maintain itself with a vastly reduced population... it will fall...
So much will be lost... maybe a latter day Phil Harding will come along.. dig something up... and say "Cor... I's know wat thaat is..."
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Wall Street Crash... the world staggered... people jumped out of windows and the masses starved and all because of lost in confidence.... not lost money.
Since 1929 there have been many, many, crashes of far greater magnitude and no ones jumped out of a window.... only a few have starved... So what is the difference.... it's simply INDIFFERENCE... Oh dear I have lost 200 billion... don't worry pay it back when you can/ that's OK ill just write it off.
The underlying cause of this is not the arrogance of "greed is good" but simply "greed can be ignored"... The same ignorance that caused the 1929 crash is gathering momentum again, in a much more global way, but due to the effects of the "indifference" its going to be totally, and potentially catastrophically, different. The 1929 crash did not start a war but this one might.
In 1970 I earned £6 a week (the apprentice was on £9 but my first job is a story for another day) - gave my mother housekeeping - rode my motorcycle all over the country - down the pub at the weekends... was not flush but never felt poor.... Now you have to have £300 a week just to make ends meet. We have more gadgets - we have more choice - but better off I simply don't know... there's a whole raft (cant afford a boatload) of things I could do/ eat/ say/ watch/ wear/ play with/ fly then but cant now....
Why do prices go up... Because you can = Greed... you don't put the price up it does not go up.. Now I realise that there is more to buy these days than there was in 1970 so an increase is inevitable but as soon as you start having to continually pay of investors and "have" to make more profit than last year, or your a bad risk/company. or the company is foreign owned and a percentage immediately goes out of the country.....the price goes up exponentially for the user.
In 1982 I wanted to go to the USA with a work colleague.. was about to book the flight when my workmate said... "not got all the money now... fridge u/s". So the plan was to book up a couple of weeks later..... but "Laker Airways" (google them if you don't know) went bankrupt...
The odd fact is... he was the first low cost no frills airline... and the others wanted to stop him.. a simple and true fact is yes he was in debt but that debt was smaller than British Airways had at that time... guess who the main instigator for closing Laker was......
So much of this country has been sold of because the government wanted a one time hit to bolster its funds without the full realisation/ understanding of the lack of future income alongside the amount of income exiting the country or the erosion of control. (companies can sue governments for laws/ rules that affect there profit... who thought that was a good idea... Oh yes companies)
In 2014 a third of the UK's infrastructure including energy and transport is owned overseas (EDF is French) but with China being allowed to design,own and operate a new generation of power stations in Britain and the fact that are also investing heavily in the new HS2 and "other" infrastructure this figure is rapidly changing for the worse..
Cadbury is still a well loved brand but it is no longer a British company in its own right and the chocolate on a Cadbury's cream egg is no longer "Cadbury's"... The new American owners immediately went back on there word... closed plants... lowered the quality of most of its chocolate, but not the prices...
The Arab emirates own much more than just Newmarket....
Jaguar Land Rover was bought by the Indian group TATA five years ago
The list is endless....
But then who knows... money has not, in itself, been relevant (just the ownership of a number) for a long while now..... almost every football club is in debt... almost all countries are in billions of debt.... and that's just "acceptable" these days... Print more?.. simply write it off, as its only a number on a computer somewhere?..
And the UK can be "Lakerised" at any time..... there's even a multiple choice of "new" owners
Ya.. something to look forward to before the new empire strikes back...
Question....
Have you ever heard of the term "Non Productive Staff"... do you think it simply means a lazy worker... or do you know it means "someone who does not produce anything".
In 2011 there were approximately 720,000 employed across tne UK automotive industry, with 140,000 directly employed in manufacturing.... that's a 5 to 1 ratio...
Sometimes an office worker is very productive within the company... but others are only productive in producing paperwork that keeps themselves in work........
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
All praise to you if you have read this far....
But please have a look at this... even if you only read the eight reason titles I think you will notice a similarity to today:-
http://www.history.com/news/history-lists/8-reasons-why-rome-fell
So, as, this blog title implies... Do we ever learn anything... Possibly not...
If you have ever read "The Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire" you will know that, apart from a really good, if long, read... it's a basic blueprint for the growth and eventual demise of empires.
Growth - either violence or coercion....... The Romans used both to great effect to expand their empire. They had a very well trained and organised army so they fought when needed or would say come join us and we will protect you and respect your ways, initially.
Demise - sometime by ignorance - sometimes by famine caused by overpopulation of an area - sometimes by over engineering of a resource - but more often by self importance, greed and not learning from the past.
The core Roman people grew INDIFFERENT, self obsessed, materialistic, greedy and being, as we now say, PC.
They not only gave freedom to the people they previously enslaved but gave them power which, in the end, helped along with the in fighting/ bickering/ stupidity (PC), enabling the "Huns" to invade them so swiftly
The British empire being the last in a long line of empires is now in that eventual demise state.
We ruled some with the use of a well trained army and navy. We ruled others through coexistence and then we became more indifferent, self obsessed, greedy and the empire declined into the Commonwealth and now that, mainly by the anal and illogical use of PC, is declining into something else
It is at a point now where it is irreconcilable. PC has gotten so out of hand and the euro zone will not let us change things back because we buck there system. its a lose lose situation that the next empire is taking full advantage off... the "Huns" invaded... the new empire cry is not "war" its "my rights are that you must change your rules/ law"..... and unfortunately we do....
As the winner writes the history books, then destroys anything that proves the new "history" wrong.... the endless cycle or rise and fall continues. regardless of what a group/ sect/ religion thinks it is impossible to have 100% of anything where the human animal is concerned.
Even if the next empire gets the 1000 years that Hitler was so intent on... it will fall... even if it tries to maintain itself with a vastly reduced population... it will fall...
So much will be lost... maybe a latter day Phil Harding will come along.. dig something up... and say "Cor... I's know wat thaat is..."
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Wall Street Crash... the world staggered... people jumped out of windows and the masses starved and all because of lost in confidence.... not lost money.
Since 1929 there have been many, many, crashes of far greater magnitude and no ones jumped out of a window.... only a few have starved... So what is the difference.... it's simply INDIFFERENCE... Oh dear I have lost 200 billion... don't worry pay it back when you can/ that's OK ill just write it off.
The underlying cause of this is not the arrogance of "greed is good" but simply "greed can be ignored"... The same ignorance that caused the 1929 crash is gathering momentum again, in a much more global way, but due to the effects of the "indifference" its going to be totally, and potentially catastrophically, different. The 1929 crash did not start a war but this one might.
In 1970 I earned £6 a week (the apprentice was on £9 but my first job is a story for another day) - gave my mother housekeeping - rode my motorcycle all over the country - down the pub at the weekends... was not flush but never felt poor.... Now you have to have £300 a week just to make ends meet. We have more gadgets - we have more choice - but better off I simply don't know... there's a whole raft (cant afford a boatload) of things I could do/ eat/ say/ watch/ wear/ play with/ fly then but cant now....
Why do prices go up... Because you can = Greed... you don't put the price up it does not go up.. Now I realise that there is more to buy these days than there was in 1970 so an increase is inevitable but as soon as you start having to continually pay of investors and "have" to make more profit than last year, or your a bad risk/company. or the company is foreign owned and a percentage immediately goes out of the country.....the price goes up exponentially for the user.
In 1982 I wanted to go to the USA with a work colleague.. was about to book the flight when my workmate said... "not got all the money now... fridge u/s". So the plan was to book up a couple of weeks later..... but "Laker Airways" (google them if you don't know) went bankrupt...
The odd fact is... he was the first low cost no frills airline... and the others wanted to stop him.. a simple and true fact is yes he was in debt but that debt was smaller than British Airways had at that time... guess who the main instigator for closing Laker was......
So much of this country has been sold of because the government wanted a one time hit to bolster its funds without the full realisation/ understanding of the lack of future income alongside the amount of income exiting the country or the erosion of control. (companies can sue governments for laws/ rules that affect there profit... who thought that was a good idea... Oh yes companies)
In 2014 a third of the UK's infrastructure including energy and transport is owned overseas (EDF is French) but with China being allowed to design,own and operate a new generation of power stations in Britain and the fact that are also investing heavily in the new HS2 and "other" infrastructure this figure is rapidly changing for the worse..
Cadbury is still a well loved brand but it is no longer a British company in its own right and the chocolate on a Cadbury's cream egg is no longer "Cadbury's"... The new American owners immediately went back on there word... closed plants... lowered the quality of most of its chocolate, but not the prices...
The Arab emirates own much more than just Newmarket....
Jaguar Land Rover was bought by the Indian group TATA five years ago
The list is endless....
But then who knows... money has not, in itself, been relevant (just the ownership of a number) for a long while now..... almost every football club is in debt... almost all countries are in billions of debt.... and that's just "acceptable" these days... Print more?.. simply write it off, as its only a number on a computer somewhere?..
And the UK can be "Lakerised" at any time..... there's even a multiple choice of "new" owners
Ya.. something to look forward to before the new empire strikes back...
Question....
Have you ever heard of the term "Non Productive Staff"... do you think it simply means a lazy worker... or do you know it means "someone who does not produce anything".
In 2011 there were approximately 720,000 employed across tne UK automotive industry, with 140,000 directly employed in manufacturing.... that's a 5 to 1 ratio...
Sometimes an office worker is very productive within the company... but others are only productive in producing paperwork that keeps themselves in work........
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
All praise to you if you have read this far....
But please have a look at this... even if you only read the eight reason titles I think you will notice a similarity to today:-
http://www.history.com/news/history-lists/8-reasons-why-rome-fell
So, as, this blog title implies... Do we ever learn anything... Possibly not...
Tuesday 23 June 2015
Perks of the Job....
A long, long time ago I worked as a "Saturday" boy on the forecourt of the, now gone as is the Blockbusters that replaced it, Berners Street garage, in Ipswich, for some extra funds.
It was a very busy forecourt in its day but one of my main memories was the husband and wife doctors who always seem to fill up on Saturdays....
She was brilliant, bouncy and full of life... always chatting away to me and the garage mechanics.... a very beautiful lady.... and then.... usually about an hour later the husband would arrive..... half awake... dishevelled..... and, always, looking totally knackered..... Often wondered about that....
I have every sympathy for a point of sales person as, even in my short time there, a few people were aggressive and abusive, trying to bully to not pay for something.. or say "Oi i gave you a fiver" when it was actually only a pound (stuff was a lot less money back then).
But, on the other hand, sometimes something great happens....
A certain Mr Nicholls used to come in... now as the "Nicholls" used to run most of the second hand car dealerships in Ipswich.... and, of course, he knew my father.... he would often throw his Range Rover keys at me and say "park that" as he went to talk to the garage boys about some deal or other...
Got quite used to that.... park the Rangy.... park the Ford.... park the .... and then one day... he walks towards me with a really big smile on his face...... throws me the keys, as usual...... I look at the keys in my hand.... and the fob says Ferrari..... FERRARI....... "don't scratch it" he says.... walking off.... laughing...
I walk outside and there sits a new 246GT Dino Ferrari.... I kid you not... Woo Hoo.... Drive a Ferrari (well park it anyway) every boys dream....
The car park in question was up on the roof of the garage, so its just a quick out, round and up the ramp..... but you could go up to the old hospital and round and down a longer route.... Yep you guessed it.... took me a bit longer to park the Ferrari than it did the Range Rover....
But I tell you what.... they maybe great to drive on the track/ open road but in town there pants.... the nice big wheel arches mean you have absolutely no chance of seeing the kerb... you sort of have tunnel vision between those wheel arches (not as bad, though, as the Corvette Stingray I was towed in a few years later... now that's a story for another time...) and, in fact, vision all round is diabolical compared to the Rangy...
Happy bunny to have driven one though..... even if it was for only a few moments..
There was one (well two for one really) other highlight while working there......
You have to wonder sometimes about the logic your boss uses when doling out various jobs for people and in the instance it was that he sent me to pick up a brand new Hillman Avenger Tiger from Chelmsford and drive it back to Ipswich... Its 1972... its a brand new Avenger Tiger.... and he sends an 18 year old...... (just don't tell the car's new owner)....
So off I toddle on the train to Chelmsford...
and collect this very sporty looking motor...
The mechanic handed me the keys and then said... (every boys dream this one)... The engine all up and test run so don't you go labouring that engine.. (here it comes)... don't care what revs you do just don't lug it.... (for those not to mechanically minded - all the extra strain of driving at too low revs just kills an engine)
He did not have to tell me twice, but i wish he had told me more - read on....
I'm into the car and out on the road.... first impressions.... nice but odd.. definitely more go, brakes rubbish but just thought that was because the were new and not worn in, but it just "sat" really odd...
Cruise out of Chelmsford and onto the A12, liking the pull away this thing has but now just cruising along watching the passing cars rubber neck at the Tiger....
Past Colchester and down onto the Dedham straight section were this TR6 pulls along side me... looks over.... and pumps the throttle two twice..... Come-on I'm 18.... What you gonna do....
He floors it... I floor it.... and he sort of just goes backward... this thing has some get up and go...
and the Tiger just pulled away.
Clarkson would have been proud - well may be not... nasty little Hillman beating a proper sports car...
So up the hill and head into the "always entertaining" right hand bend.... just on the legal speed limit and the car..... well it just started to squirm..... badly.... got a nice roll on and it was getting past the new trousers time please and nearer to the "my this field look nice".
Don't see it so much these days but that bend used to be lethal with diesel spills, tire ruts and an adverse camber... seen many cars in that field, most on there roof.....
TR6 comes flying past waving a salute (your word here) and disappears off as I just say to myself.. "Oh dear what happened there".. (again your words here)..
The rest of the short drive back was uneventful but had a word with the main mechanic...he laughed and then said....
"Spent over £450 on that engine and nothing of the suspension, brakes or chassis... we were all wondering how that would work out"
Wish the mechanic had told me that when I had picked it up....
Link to the wiki page here:- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hillman_Avenger where is says
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Modifications included the 1500 GT engine with an improved cylinder head with enlarged valves, twin Weber carburetors and a compression ratio of 9.4:1. The engine now developed 92.5 bhp (69 kW) at 6,100 rpm. The suspension was also uprated, whilst brakes, rear axle, and gearbox are directly from the GT.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Don't know about the suspension being uprated on the one I drove as it was crap... but then again the "Honest John" review site ( http://classics.honestjohn.co.uk/reviews/hillman/avenger/ ) says...
Low survival rate due to shocking build and corrosion issues
Not the nearest I have come to being killed, as that honour belong to Andy and his Kawasaki 750 widow-maker I had the misfortune to be on the back off, but it was a tad to close for comfort.
It was a very busy forecourt in its day but one of my main memories was the husband and wife doctors who always seem to fill up on Saturdays....
She was brilliant, bouncy and full of life... always chatting away to me and the garage mechanics.... a very beautiful lady.... and then.... usually about an hour later the husband would arrive..... half awake... dishevelled..... and, always, looking totally knackered..... Often wondered about that....
I have every sympathy for a point of sales person as, even in my short time there, a few people were aggressive and abusive, trying to bully to not pay for something.. or say "Oi i gave you a fiver" when it was actually only a pound (stuff was a lot less money back then).
But, on the other hand, sometimes something great happens....
A certain Mr Nicholls used to come in... now as the "Nicholls" used to run most of the second hand car dealerships in Ipswich.... and, of course, he knew my father.... he would often throw his Range Rover keys at me and say "park that" as he went to talk to the garage boys about some deal or other...
Got quite used to that.... park the Rangy.... park the Ford.... park the .... and then one day... he walks towards me with a really big smile on his face...... throws me the keys, as usual...... I look at the keys in my hand.... and the fob says Ferrari..... FERRARI....... "don't scratch it" he says.... walking off.... laughing...
I walk outside and there sits a new 246GT Dino Ferrari.... I kid you not... Woo Hoo.... Drive a Ferrari (well park it anyway) every boys dream....
But I tell you what.... they maybe great to drive on the track/ open road but in town there pants.... the nice big wheel arches mean you have absolutely no chance of seeing the kerb... you sort of have tunnel vision between those wheel arches (not as bad, though, as the Corvette Stingray I was towed in a few years later... now that's a story for another time...) and, in fact, vision all round is diabolical compared to the Rangy...
Happy bunny to have driven one though..... even if it was for only a few moments..
There was one (well two for one really) other highlight while working there......
You have to wonder sometimes about the logic your boss uses when doling out various jobs for people and in the instance it was that he sent me to pick up a brand new Hillman Avenger Tiger from Chelmsford and drive it back to Ipswich... Its 1972... its a brand new Avenger Tiger.... and he sends an 18 year old...... (just don't tell the car's new owner)....
So off I toddle on the train to Chelmsford...
The mechanic handed me the keys and then said... (every boys dream this one)... The engine all up and test run so don't you go labouring that engine.. (here it comes)... don't care what revs you do just don't lug it.... (for those not to mechanically minded - all the extra strain of driving at too low revs just kills an engine)
He did not have to tell me twice, but i wish he had told me more - read on....
I'm into the car and out on the road.... first impressions.... nice but odd.. definitely more go, brakes rubbish but just thought that was because the were new and not worn in, but it just "sat" really odd...
Cruise out of Chelmsford and onto the A12, liking the pull away this thing has but now just cruising along watching the passing cars rubber neck at the Tiger....
Past Colchester and down onto the Dedham straight section were this TR6 pulls along side me... looks over.... and pumps the throttle two twice..... Come-on I'm 18.... What you gonna do....
He floors it... I floor it.... and he sort of just goes backward... this thing has some get up and go...
and the Tiger just pulled away.
Clarkson would have been proud - well may be not... nasty little Hillman beating a proper sports car...
So up the hill and head into the "always entertaining" right hand bend.... just on the legal speed limit and the car..... well it just started to squirm..... badly.... got a nice roll on and it was getting past the new trousers time please and nearer to the "my this field look nice".
Don't see it so much these days but that bend used to be lethal with diesel spills, tire ruts and an adverse camber... seen many cars in that field, most on there roof.....
TR6 comes flying past waving a salute (your word here) and disappears off as I just say to myself.. "Oh dear what happened there".. (again your words here)..
The rest of the short drive back was uneventful but had a word with the main mechanic...he laughed and then said....
"Spent over £450 on that engine and nothing of the suspension, brakes or chassis... we were all wondering how that would work out"
Wish the mechanic had told me that when I had picked it up....
Link to the wiki page here:- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hillman_Avenger where is says
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Modifications included the 1500 GT engine with an improved cylinder head with enlarged valves, twin Weber carburetors and a compression ratio of 9.4:1. The engine now developed 92.5 bhp (69 kW) at 6,100 rpm. The suspension was also uprated, whilst brakes, rear axle, and gearbox are directly from the GT.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Don't know about the suspension being uprated on the one I drove as it was crap... but then again the "Honest John" review site ( http://classics.honestjohn.co.uk/reviews/hillman/avenger/ ) says...
Low survival rate due to shocking build and corrosion issues
Not the nearest I have come to being killed, as that honour belong to Andy and his Kawasaki 750 widow-maker I had the misfortune to be on the back off, but it was a tad to close for comfort.
Thursday 4 June 2015
What Do You Belive in....
Faceblogtweet being so full of religious hate comments, and a recent post about "Real Men don't hit Woman" just got me wondering if there is much difference between the two ideals.
They say there's two things we do without conscious thought... Eat and Reproduce..... But I think there is a third.. Greed... (or more correctly "The wont of other peoples life...") as the primordial part of our brain has far more control than most people realise....
And then there's the word GOD.... even an agnostic may cry "Oh God that hurts" if he smashes his thumb rather than the nail he was trying to hammer home...
The word God has been ingrained into our DNA for a Milena and it seems, to me, that there are three main types (please read this as just an opinion and not a truth/ absolute/ your word here).
Firstly..... The all powerful just/ unjust "Monotheism" by which ever name you know him...
my main problem with these is the promise that cannot be proven
Secondly The "Polytheism" system of many, many gods..... lots of good things in this system for personal and not invasive control
Thirdly The "Our God is the One but we will respect yours" A system that the Romans (side note.. ever wondered about the 25th of December ) and Inca's (and probably others I an not fully aware of) used to great advantage in empire expanding
Real men don't hit woman... does not ring true to me and as reflex situations happen... so the statement should read "Why did this man hit a woman" (or woman hits man).
One person who hits another more than once may have a problem with themselves not the other party as, in truth, most bullies are cowards inside and need constant proof they are better by making someone else feel worse/ make someone there slave. But if they do it because they like it that's a whole other ball game...
Does this equate to a single god/ sect with rules that you must obey..... They are right and everyone else is wrong.....
The "Poly" and "Roman" at least have some leeway, but you were still likely to be "punished"
The religious problem in the headlines, at the moment is mainly there because they want to prove themselves right by pressing every possible button until they get a reaction.... because they believe that "others will come to try and stop us" every time there is a response it just proves them right in there eyes...
You can pick any topic you like and they will have an anti view of it....
The world wars are prevalent in the news so the "there was no Holocaust" was a perfect button push..
We can burn your book but you cannot burn, or even comment on, ours.... button push....
Not that people should not respond but how its done needs to be better thought out... The old adage of "if you don't understand it kill it" is used way to often....
No body wants to die earlier than they have to so most will do anything just to live a little longer but to some this just means that they get "high" on your fear for a little longer, as in there eyes you are worthless...
If 1,000,000 people just walked into there territory, you could do it for the bikers, and started talking to people, help them, feed them...men and woman equally... what would happen?.... if they shot the first 1,000.... would you keep on walking.... but if you did would it change things.... I'd like to think so...
Ever since there have been conflict both sides would tell there people "they eat babies" etc to breed hatred... but, apart from genocide, how many times have two waring factions ended up friends... until the next fight.....
A small number can easily control a larger though fear but if the larger number "removes" the smaller then are the larger..... well there is no easy answer and as long as someone wants to be "higher/ better/ have more" than another there never will be.
And finally the Fourth religious option.....
The "we don't own anything... we just borrow it for the time were here" . This appeals to me as it simply states we are here... we use/ make stuff... we return our nutrients...
The body needs no promises, just fuel... you may feel you need a purpose to live, otherwise why do we exist... but in reality the body just needs food to fuel it until the day it cant repair itself anymore. It is the brain that causes the problem and as we are just an animal that thinks to much...
You can ask an American Indian how he feels but you can't an Original Tasmanian... Whatever we think we are... if nature joins in we are but specs of sand....
Get a Life humanity and realise we are all the same... were here.... we live... we die.... If you want to believe in something that's fine but don't ram it down other peoples throat.... its what you contribute while your here that matters... NOT what you have or control
They say there's two things we do without conscious thought... Eat and Reproduce..... But I think there is a third.. Greed... (or more correctly "The wont of other peoples life...") as the primordial part of our brain has far more control than most people realise....
And then there's the word GOD.... even an agnostic may cry "Oh God that hurts" if he smashes his thumb rather than the nail he was trying to hammer home...
The word God has been ingrained into our DNA for a Milena and it seems, to me, that there are three main types (please read this as just an opinion and not a truth/ absolute/ your word here).
Firstly..... The all powerful just/ unjust "Monotheism" by which ever name you know him...
my main problem with these is the promise that cannot be proven
Secondly The "Polytheism" system of many, many gods..... lots of good things in this system for personal and not invasive control
Thirdly The "Our God is the One but we will respect yours" A system that the Romans (side note.. ever wondered about the 25th of December ) and Inca's (and probably others I an not fully aware of) used to great advantage in empire expanding
Real men don't hit woman... does not ring true to me and as reflex situations happen... so the statement should read "Why did this man hit a woman" (or woman hits man).
One person who hits another more than once may have a problem with themselves not the other party as, in truth, most bullies are cowards inside and need constant proof they are better by making someone else feel worse/ make someone there slave. But if they do it because they like it that's a whole other ball game...
Does this equate to a single god/ sect with rules that you must obey..... They are right and everyone else is wrong.....
The "Poly" and "Roman" at least have some leeway, but you were still likely to be "punished"
The religious problem in the headlines, at the moment is mainly there because they want to prove themselves right by pressing every possible button until they get a reaction.... because they believe that "others will come to try and stop us" every time there is a response it just proves them right in there eyes...
You can pick any topic you like and they will have an anti view of it....
The world wars are prevalent in the news so the "there was no Holocaust" was a perfect button push..
We can burn your book but you cannot burn, or even comment on, ours.... button push....
Not that people should not respond but how its done needs to be better thought out... The old adage of "if you don't understand it kill it" is used way to often....
No body wants to die earlier than they have to so most will do anything just to live a little longer but to some this just means that they get "high" on your fear for a little longer, as in there eyes you are worthless...
If 1,000,000 people just walked into there territory, you could do it for the bikers, and started talking to people, help them, feed them...men and woman equally... what would happen?.... if they shot the first 1,000.... would you keep on walking.... but if you did would it change things.... I'd like to think so...
Ever since there have been conflict both sides would tell there people "they eat babies" etc to breed hatred... but, apart from genocide, how many times have two waring factions ended up friends... until the next fight.....
A small number can easily control a larger though fear but if the larger number "removes" the smaller then are the larger..... well there is no easy answer and as long as someone wants to be "higher/ better/ have more" than another there never will be.
And finally the Fourth religious option.....
The "we don't own anything... we just borrow it for the time were here" . This appeals to me as it simply states we are here... we use/ make stuff... we return our nutrients...
The body needs no promises, just fuel... you may feel you need a purpose to live, otherwise why do we exist... but in reality the body just needs food to fuel it until the day it cant repair itself anymore. It is the brain that causes the problem and as we are just an animal that thinks to much...
You can ask an American Indian how he feels but you can't an Original Tasmanian... Whatever we think we are... if nature joins in we are but specs of sand....
Get a Life humanity and realise we are all the same... were here.... we live... we die.... If you want to believe in something that's fine but don't ram it down other peoples throat.... its what you contribute while your here that matters... NOT what you have or control
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